Sunny Days and Cool Temps: Thuringia's 2023 Strawberry Season Kicks Off
Strawberries successfully harvested in Thuringia for the first time - Strawberries successfully gathered in Thuringia for the first time
This spring we're celebrating the start of strawberry season in Thuringia, where the sun's shining bright but temps stay cool. With 16 farming operations covering roughly 141 hectares, Thuringia's strawberry fields are teeming with these sweet jewels, lovingly plucked by hand. Though it makes up less than 1% of Germany's total strawberry acreage, the state's crop weighs in at approximately 673 tons annually.
State Agriculture Secretary Marcus Malsch issued a heads-up over the mounting challenges in stride before the season officially begins in Gebesee, Sömmerda. From soaring production costs to the brutally competitive European market, these growers have got their work cut out for them. Malsch acknowledges that, while they've made significant production cuts over the past years, the strawberry remains a symbol of pride in Thuringia's fruit and veggie production. He also noted that the increasing minimum wage poses a considerable obstacle for manual harvesting ops like these. In a bid to combat escalating expenses, growers are turning to more efficient production methods or extending their growing season by utilizing foil covers. Malsch made a point to remind us all that regional goodness does come at a premium.
The Thuringian Ministry of Agriculture shares that the area dedicated to strawberries in Germany has dropped since 2015. During the last six years, the open-field strawberry yield in Thuringia has plummeted by a whopping 62%. A silver lining lies in the expansion of protected cultivation such as foil tunnels or greenhouses, but these gains have not fully offset the decline. One of the largest producers, Erdbeerhof Gebesee, cultivates both open-field and foil-wrapped strawberries. For this year's harvest, around 90 full-time pickers will be needed. Strawberries from the harvest will find their way onto grocery store shelves, roadside stands, and farm stores.
Governor Malsch hopes to alleviate some of the pressure on agriculture by implementing farming-friendly measures such as the bureaucracy hotline, the voluntary land register, and the Pakt für Wachstum und Arbeitsplätze (Pact for Growth and Jobs) to lessen regulations on Thuringia's farming landscape and enable cost savings and investments over time.
Strawberry Season
Thuringia
Strawberry Picking
spring Fruits
Gebesee
While general challenges for fruit producers in spring include weather volatility, marketing uncertainties, and bureaucratic red tape, nailing down specific challenges for Thuringia requires a closer look at local factors like soil conditions, pest prevention, and region-specific market trends. Stay tuned for further updates on how Thuringia's strawberry growers continue to tame the challenges of strawberry farming.
The following are to be added to the list of products covered by the derogation: strawberries from Thuringia. On the subject of Strawberry Season in Thuringia, we must also consider the impact of soring production costs and the competitive European market on local growers in Gebesee. The lifestyle of hand-plucked strawberry pickers in Thuringia could be affected by the increasing minimum wage. Home-and-garden enthusiasts in Thuringia could potentially benefit from region-specific growth trends in strawberry cultivation.
